Noctua NH-L12

Metascore

TechSpot Metascore

Excellent:

Good:

Average:

Bad:

User Score

The Noctua NH-L12 is an exceptional cooler when used for the right purpose. It offers a silent option that performs well on systems with processors of the AMD FX 4000 and 6000 series or Intel's i3 and i5 line-up. It is also backed by fantastic support and has a low-profile option for truly small systems, which makes the Noctua NH-L12 a great option if you are in need of a small and quiet cooler of the best possible quality.

Expert reviews and ratings

The Noctua NH-L12 is an exceptional cooler when used for the right purpose. It offers a silent option that performs well on systems with processors of the AMD FX 4000 and 6000 series or Intel's i3 and i5 line-up. It is also backed by fantastic support and has a low-profile option for truly small systems, which makes the Noctua NH-L12 a great option if you are in need of a small and quiet cooler of the best possible quality.

The and the are both excellent choices as cheap and capable replacements for the Intel reference cooler, but do begin to struggle and make some noise in an overclocked performance rig. The Noctua NH-L12 may be slightly larger than these coolers, but...

In a North American culture, many of us tend to cheer for a favorite sports team, whether it is for football, hockey, basketball, soccer, or golf. Okay, maybe not golf, but you get the idea. This is especially true when teams are sent to the Summer or...

Noctua did a great job with cooling performance for a low profile cooler and the ease of installation on both Intel and AMD platforms are second to none. The attention to details of the cooler is what make this stand out from the rest. Discuss in...

While the numbers are admittedly not as impressive, our test CPU is one of the highest-end CPUs on the market, and the 1.45v overclock (for 4.7GHz) is very high. For HTPCs and smaller chassis, such a processor simply shouldn’t be used. Neither...

Over the past few years I've reviewed pretty much every product that Noctua has produced, and even after years I am still left pleased at the end of each of my reviews with the latest and greatest from Noctua. Today I took a look at the Noctua...

When I first received this cooler I was expecting a decent cooler that would perform well on a CPU that would be in an HTPC, but could not compete with larger coolers to and cool my Core i7-3820. I was especially worried as Noctua even puts this...

Noctua is well known for their excellent cooling products, when it comes to the enthusiast end of things Noctua knows what it's doing that's for sure. Many of Noctua's products are aimed at the high-end or enthusiast user who likes to...

Quality (30% of the total score) Quality wise, the Noctua NH-L12 is a very carefully designed and manufactured cooler, yet not without flaws. The main parts of the cooler are very well crafted and high quality material is being used, creating a high...

High performance cooling has come a long way over the years and while most people associate aftermarket cooling options with overclocking that isn't always the case. In fact some coolers are best suited as high capacity alternatives to the cheap and...

We have seen a number of Noctua products in the past and on each occasion have been impressed by the build quality and design with more recent models excelling on both fronts. With the NH-L12 Noctua continue to impress and the cooler looks and feels...

Noctua's NH-L12 is a finely crafted heatsink that is designed to fit in small places. Even at its lowest profile with a less-than-optimal contact, this 66 mm CPU cooler will cool an i7 860 at stock speed. If it will cool that chip, it will certainly...

We revised our test setup, and submitted 33 popular CPU coolers to our rigorous new tests. Read on to find out which one cools the best, which one is the most silent, and most importantly, which one gives you the best value for your money. When you...

With cases coming in many different shapes and sizes, accommodating motherboards of various form factors, CPU cooling solutions also need to be considered. With the HTPC becoming more popular, and the cases more stylish and practical, HTPC CPU cooling...

Noctua is a brand name that is very often associated with three things: silence, quality and performance. Yet there is a lot more to Noctua than the NH-D14: that world renowned dual tower heatsink that is the yardstick by which air CPU cooler...

Video Review: The Noctua NH-L12 CPU Cooler is a perfect option for a tiny computer build. It comes with two quiet, long life fans (120mm & 92mm), copper base, heatpipes and many aluminum fins. This is truly is a super low-profile cooler as with top...